Jax and Kitana are way too boring without their darker natures, in my opinion. Keep in mind that Kitana was also an assassin, and her story has been leading her down the rabbit-hole a little bit. As for Jax, he is just redundant as a hero.

I agree with you on your first comments, however, you are viewing the whole "Dark Fantasy" idea as an exaggerated example. It doesn't have to be as over-the-top as you are making it out to be. My views are expressed better in following the quote:



Yeah, cause ballerinas in swimming suites is really serious.

Anyway, I can see how a "more realistic-military" approach in her costume can please some people, but its not something that's necessary, at all. Its not even a good idea considering that what we want in all characters is an interesting, "cool", innovative look. I don't want some damn boring realistic military outfit. WTF?

Since when has MK been about "dressing realistically"? Hell, since when has MK beeb about realism? To quote Ed Boon:

"Nobody wants to pay for reality".

If Sonya is a freaking joke than so is more than half of the cast for fighting in high heels, half naked, in tights, in swimming suits, in robes that could make anyone trip after the first step, in hats the size of a small elephant, and with huge gigantic belts that are probably heavier than Goro's ass.

Sorry, but the whole idea of making Sonya dress sin a "more realistic military" outfit is definitely not the path to go. Thankfully, she's always been designed with a new innovative look that fits her character and the role she represents in every single game. Her looks have never been repetitive. I don't care about a silly thong, a light tan, a cute piercing, forgotten earrings, or her gigantic boobs as long as they keep her with her pants on and with a fresh look that isn't entirely realistic or entirely "over-the top" unrealistic.

QueenSindel(TheBitch) nailed the idea the best, imo.

And yeah, like you said, "Dark Fantasy" is not a stupid idea if not exaggerated. She is one of the most human characters in the game, therefore, she needs a more "human" look than the citizens from other realms: she represents Earth. HOWEVER, part of Sonya is also about magic, so, spice her up with some fresh "unrealistic" style. It suites her character. Don't stuff her up in a boring generic military costume.

You want military? Look no further than Sonya's MKDA alternate, which was superb. That's as far as realistic as they should go with her. Her look was human, serious, decent, and with a nice touch of elegance. It was brilliant, but still, her primary was he one that nailed her the best.

PS: MK hasn't been about mortals since MK1??? Yeah, right.



I disagree.

I can already hear the complaints about having characters in "such boring realistic outfits". Again, MK is about having some common sense of realism for the story of the game itself to be taken seriously, but its NOT about 100% reality.

The "Lara Croft-ish" look beats the hell out of those realistic boring military costume ideas, but, I can totally see how its not the best idea if you only think Tomb Raider.

Anyway, you have military characters? Spice them up with a bit of sci-fi/fantasy to make them fresh and original. You have cops? Give them a more futuristic approach so they don't look bland next to the rest of fantastic MK creatures. You have ninjas? Give them that little something that doesn't make them look like male ballerinas in tights. You have human criminals? Give them that extra spicy touch to make them have some style.

LOL, who knew MK was also a fashion/beauty contest? But as bizarre as it sounds, truth be told: It is.



LMAO. Quoted for truth.



Like I said, you nailed the point the best. Sci-fi/futuristic is the way to go.

Look what they did with Stryker in MKA. His primary look was drop dead amazing thanks to the "futuristic" approach. He was no longer a stale simple cop.



Always a pleasure to see you around Leo! So good to read your opinions my friend, and once again, I agree.

Can't wait to see what they have in store for MK's babe. And seriously, there's no way they can take away her trademark moves again. No room for excuses anymore.



Very interesting thoughts Thrawn (always a pleasure to read your comments as well ).

While I can see where you are coming from with characters like Kitana, and say, Johnny Cage and Liu Kang, I do think there is some "dark" potential in characters like Jax and Rayden.

I think they nailed the darkness of both of these characters because it wasn't something that happened 'cause they are on a spell, or like a slap on the face (if you know what I mean). Rayden had his reasons (and time) to go from point A to point B, and, apparently, so will Jax.

What's great about them is that, technically, they are NOT evil characters like Sektor, Shang Tsung, or Shao Kahn. I'm not saying make Jax evil (like Kahn), I wouldn't like that too much. I'm saying explore his dark side. He would be one of those characters who will somehow be corrupted, and his views of good/evil will no longer be what they should be (like dark Rayden).

I hope I made some sense.

Ever since MKD there has been a hint of growing darkness in Jax, and I think its cool if well developed.

But yeah, I totally agree with your views regarding "heroes be heroes". I can see how its become more like a boring annoying cliche in comics and movies, but, to be fair, it can work well with some characters.

Yep. It's not something we say out loud, but it's true.

There's a lot of talk about making MK serious, but MK already is serious. It's a story centered around a classical battle of good and evil with a lot of attention to artistic design. I don't think A Native American fighting a missile-shooting robot changes that.

When other fighting games try to be serious in both story and execution, they don't feel more genuine, they just feel sort of generic.

While I agree in some respects with the argument against realism, I think it's necessary to distinguish between stark realism (something we may in fact be trying to avoid by turning to video games) and believability, which I feel is absolutely necessary for a truly quality gaming experience. It's funny you mention Nightwolf, here, Temp, because I think he might explain my argument pretty well. Though I believe the decision not to tie characters like him and Kenshi to any one tribe or culture was probably done intentionally to promote the whole fantasy aspect of MK, I think in the end it just makes their characters more bland and insincere than they would have been with rich and detailed backgrounds drawing on their unique origins. And no doubt rooting them in real cultures would vastly help them in the costume department as well.

As for the Sonya's costume argument, I don't think a military uniform would necessarily make her character more believable. In MK 1 and 3 the spandex actually made sense to me, because a lot of the times in real life sport fighting you do see a lot of spandex. If I think about it, a good change of pace as a second costume for her might be some kind of sharp-looking everyday street clothes, as if she got caught off guard one day and had to make due with what she had. It'd certainly be an improvement from the drab soldier look of MK:DA, anyway.

For sure.

And that's one of the beautiful things about MK. Unlike what most parents might think, MK is not just about the blood and the gore.



Interesting points.

I like your suggestion about a "everyday street clothes" alternate costume, that's sort of what I had in mind when picturing Sonya in shorts. However, it may be very risky because it might end up looking very generic and bland. Maybe even boring and unlike Sonya.

I prefer they stick to the known elements that make Sonya the badass Sonya Blade, and just spice it up with a futuristic/fantasy approach like they did in MKvsDC. That worked perfectly.

Why does a realistic outfit have to constitute as being boring? Why can't there be a sense of realism in the costumes that characters wear?



I'm more than aware that MK is not about 100% reality. Of course it isn't! I've been a fan of the series for many years, so I know that MK has lots of fantasy elements. You said that MK is about having some common sense of realism for the story of the game itself to be taken seriously.

The thing is, with Sonya, she's not only a character from Earth, she is a Lieutenant in the Special Forces division of the U.S. Army yet the way she dresses is silly. You try to make a small deal out of her piercing or her thong, but those things take away the seriousness of her character, especially considering this is Sonya we're talking about.

Look at the way Jax was done in MK vs. DC. While he probably doesn't dress like someone that's supposed to be a Major in the U.S. Special Forces, at least the way he was designed is much better than what they did with Sonya.

I know you're a big fan of Sonya and that you raved about her MK vs. DC look, but I still find Jax's MK vs. DC look to be superior.



I disagree. If it was a different character, then maybe it could work. Keep in mind that being a soldier is a big part of who Sonya is as a character.



That's essentially what they did with Jax, and he turned out to be much better than Sonya. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well he turned out despite not being a fan of him. It's not even that her MK vs. DC look is entirely bad. To me, it just needed some touch-ups, and it would have been fine.



They more or less did this with Stryker, and I really like the redesign for him, especially his alternate costume.



If you're talking about the Shinobi Shozoku ("ninja suit"), that has more of a mythological factor than reality. The MK ninjas are based off of ninja stereotypes, not actual historical ninja, most of whom are/were Samurai (e.g. Daisuke Togakure). Before MK4, the ninjas were just pallete swaps, but now, they've been given more distinct looks. Sub-Zero has his ancestral armor. Ermac has a mystic look to him. Rain has a regal look to him.



That shouldn't be hard to do, but it doesn't mean there shouldn't be a sense of realism to them.

You quoted something that Ed Boon said about nobody wanting to pay for reality. The thing is, I actually had a problem with how over-the-top MK3-MKT was in terms of how unrealistic it was. There are certain things about those games that got a bit too ridiculous. I feel that there should be a good balance between realistic and unrealistic elements in Mortal Kombat games. To go too far towards one extreme would take away from the series, imo.

In some ways, Sonya is a joke in the sense that she is supposed to be a Lieutenant in the U.S. Special Forces yet she's portrayed as brash and hot-headed while wearing a thong, a tight top with seemingly no bra, and showing her belly, which has a piercing on the belly button.

Jax's looks in previous games were also silly. He went around shirtless. In MK3-MKT, he had purple and black pants on. In MKDA, he wore a red beret when he should have been wearing a green beret.

You also mentioned to ~Crow~ about high heels, swimsuit-type costumes, etc., and I pretty much agree with you. I want the swimsuit-type costumes and high heels to be done away with. I feel that that Sindel and the female ninja-type characters need to have new and better costumes. This isn't to say that certain characters couldn't or shouldn't show skin. To me, it depends on the character. Not everyone has to be covered up all the way.

I still think The_Truth has the right idea. They could go for a fantasy/fake SF look while still making her look very soldier-ish. If they can do that with Jax, why not do that with Sonya? Is it hard to take away her belly button piercing and thong while giving her an army tank top and jacket (one that could cover her arms and chest)? Maybe she could even have accessories such as a radio. Would you be opposed to these things?

Like I said before, a sense of realism is fine with me, but it doesn’t have to be entirely realistic just like it doesn’t have to be entirely over the top unrealistic.

Realistic doesn’t necessarily constitute boring as long as its not all that it is to the characters outfit, even one as human as Sonya, Johnny Cage, Jax, Liu Kang, etc. Hasn’t the past shown us how most fans mutilate all those who seem “too bland” (a.k.a “realistic”/”human”/”normal”/”boring”)? Yep, it has.



Those following comments you quouted up there were actually not directed at you. My bad. I guess it looks like it was because I wrote it down under my response to your quote, but it was just a general opinion directed to the thread in general. Sorry about that.

I think I have a good memory when it comes to knowing who gets MK in this site, so yeah, I know you are aware of what MK is all about.

Anyway, as for your comments regarding Jax, I actually happen to love him in this game. I’m not a huge fan of the character, but he was superb in every sense of the word. And yeah, his costume was flawless and I love it! As for your comparison between him and Sonya, all I can say is that I don’t remember Jax being a sex symbol, ever. Do I agree that there are different ways they can approach the whole “sex sells” thing if they are so willing to do it anyways? Yes. Should they even do it? Maybe not. Does it sell? Yes. Is it bad on Sonya? No. Why? Because she clearly is a sex symbol in MK like some of the other females. And while they have some of them half naked (or completely naked) they have Sonya with more subtle sexy things.

So yeah, a thong, a belly-button piercing, earrings, or a slight tan is not enough to take away the fact that she is still a tough serious independent SF agent who dresses in what looks like a futuristic OIA approach. Its also about the attitude. Granted, if they had her like a Disney Princess in her outfits, than I would agree with you. Or if they had her running around half naked, than yeah, I would agree its not what Sonya’s character represents. But all those other details are just minor and subtle “sex sells” thing that make her a sex symbol. Whether that’s good or bad is a totally different subject, but I have no problem with it as long as she keeps her pants on.

Regarding the “Lara-ish” look, I guess we can agree to disagree.

Regarding the general examples of cops, criminals, ninjas, etc., like I said above it was just general comments aimed at no one in particular. Sorry about the misquote, but you seem to get my points anyways.



So we agree.

This is exactly the thing I’ve been saying all along. And as far as MK3/T goes, that’s why I keep saying that things don’t have to be “over the top” un realistic, and this applies to costumes as well.



But why?

I gave those as examples, but I am not necessarily opposed to all of them. I’;m most certainly not opposed to high heels.

Why not? Again, this is not a game were everything has to seem realistic to be believable or to make characters less of a joke.

I actually like seeing characters like the female ninjas fighting in crazy high heels. Un realistic? Not really a big deal, at all. No. Why? Well, they are trained deadly warriors who’ve probably had enough time to learn how not to fall when fighting in heels. One of them has hair that kills and another razor-sharp teeth. Heels really aren’t that big of a deal.


No I wouldn’t, I like those suggestions! As long as it doesn’t look too realistic, I’m fine with it.

I can see where you are coming from with the whole “realistic military outfit”, but I can only agree with this vision to an extent. However, I think we agree that they can make it look fake/futuristic or whatever so it doesn’t seem too real. I would love to see her with a radio, some special glasses, special gadgets, and that cool communication thing she had in her ear in the MK4 comic. That was pretty cool. I’m all for those kind of things.

I’m not opposed to that.

I’m opposed to the vision of having Sonya looking similar like that military girl in the picture above. That woman looks awesome, but, she is not fighting in MK. That look is far too boring and bland, and that’s just my opinion. I don’t mind a more “realistic” approach, but I also don’t want to see the midriff look go cause its not a big deal. It’s a trademark of hers, and its pretty much the look that screams: Sonya. I love the “unrealistic” style she has, but I do hope she gets a fresh new look that pleases everyone. More solider-ish if you want, with a nice touch of fantasy/fake on it to make her look original and not like a regular army chick.

I just think Jax and Sonya should look like warrior badasses and not like they belong on Jersey Shore. The problem with them is that they don't look military at all. What they wear couldn't even be considered "fantasty/military" or whatever. Wearing a beret (that Sonya doesn't wear correctly either, BTW) and combat boots with your sports bra, visible thong, and leather pants doesn't make you look the part exactly.

With that said her Shaolin Monks costume was probably the closest thing she's ever come to wearing military gear and she looked pretty decent. Modify or tweak that a bit (give her ACU or mulitcam instead of woodland camo) and it could look pretty good.

I don't know maybe I just am more discriminating because I am in the Army and I know how things actually work. I still think the Alicia Diaz look is pretty fucking cool.

I think the issue with the characters you mentioned is the characters themselves in terms of their personalities and stories. It wasn't until much later in which Johnny Cage and Jax got interesting stories.



Oh ok. That's alright man.



I felt he had a sense of decency to him, and I could take him seriously. I would have liked him to look more like John Parrish though. Like you, I'm not really a fan of him either. I didn't find his costume to be flawless, but I thought it was pretty cool for him and was a nice change.



I understand what you're saying about the whole "sex symbol" thing. However, I still don't think that it's necessary for Sonya to dress the way she has in the MK games. She could still be a bit more covered up yet still have the sex appeal.



The slight tan isn't the issue for me. It's the thong, belly button piercing and the top that she has on that I have an issue with. As a soldier in the army, shouldn't she have her own squad with her? This is especially true in MK: Armageddon's Konquest mode when she was in the Arctic.



I suppose so. There should be a realistic base though.



I know that MK isn't a game series in which everything has to seem realistic, but wouldn't high-heels give them a disadvantage? I don't think any kind of training is really going to prevent them from having a disadvantage. I'd rather have them wear flat-heeled footwear like in MK2.



I think it should look realistic enough to be believable and for her to be taken seriously as a soldier in the army.



Ok.



I think The_Truth was trying to use an example to give a sort of idea as to how he wanted Sonya to look.



That was a pretty good look despite the issues with her face.



Actually, I think your experience in the Army helps give a good perspective on matters like this. It would be nice to have such people influence the way characters like Sonya and Jax are done.

Like I said this is the closest she has ever come to having a military-esque uniform...and don't anybody mention that retarded fake ass dress uniform alternate from DA and Armageddon.

Now, let's fix this design a bit...

Head
1.) Add the hat/hair/face from MK4.

2.) Give her Oakley M-Frame style eyepro.

3.) Give her a small highspeed comm. system, small earbud/mic.

Upper Body
1.) Lose the mid-riff shirt. If you want to have the "sex-appeal" thing have her wear only a black (or tan if going with a blouse) UnderArmor type shirt, which if anybody has evern worn those are skin tight. Functional and hot? Yes.
2.) She doesn't really need a blouse but if you're going to have one have her wear it correctly...i.e. correct size and worn correctly.
3.) Since she's in Outworld and there don't seem to be many firearms in Outworld....she doesn't need body armor. Ceramic body armor doesn't do shit against blades anyway. HOWEVER, a load-bearing device (like a FLC a.k.a. "flick") wouldn't be out of the question. It's light and the MOLLE shit can let her carry stuff she might need like an IFAK (first aid kit), canteens, etc. Give her a "tactical look."

4.) She can wear shooting gloves but give her REAL shooting gloves...like these Wiley X CAG gloves which I actually use. They look cool and they're fire resistant...AND they have these hard ass reinforced knuckles that can do some serious damage if you punch somebody. Oakley and Blackhawk have variations of the same style glove.


Lower Body
1.) No changes are really necessary aside from camo swaps (the Army uses ACU, but we're switching to Multicam for Afghanistan). However those random straps on her leg could be replaced by a leg drop with a pistol holster.

2.) Her boots are way too fucking tall. She should also swap out to some some tan desert boots. Any will do but just for the sake of continuity put her in some Oakleys.

...and that's how I'd fix her.

Awesome. That sounds great man. Simple things like these could make her look so much better. The next thing is dealing with her behavior.

As long as she isn't running at people screaming "Kombat Time!" I think we're ok.

Oh jeez...Please do NOT bring that up! >_< I hated that shit.

I felt that in MK: Armageddon's Konquest mode, she should have dressed appropriately for the weather conditions and had a squad with her. Wouldn't that have made a lot more sense? Granted, this is just a video game series, and it's the kind of stuff that the MK team wouldn't really think about. I'm just saying that they could have details like that, especially since Taven fought Black Dragon members before he fought Kabal.

The_Truth, that's awesome stuff you brought there for Sonya. Thumbs up!

And speaking of MKA's Konquest and the weather conditions, I agree with what you say about Sonya, Sub-Zero_7h. To add even more details and realism, I think Taven should have ripped the fur from that beast he killed in Arctika because even he wasn't dressed appropriately for the snowy conditions. And the background music (which was spot on, I think) really made it seem like it was cold as hell.

Regarding Jax:

I Agree.

He was fantastic. He was also one of the characters who looked the most (amazingly) real. His human features were superb.

I was pleasantly surprised with the new design because I didn't expect such a drastic improvement. I was OK with his MKDA primary costume, but this was exactly what he needed to look interesting. Granted, its not 100% military, but that's what I love about it (plus his serious and not stereotypical-portrayal, which was perfect in MKvsDC).

Actually, come to think of it, I think Jax is definitely on my list of fave characters thanks to MKvsDC.

Regarding Sonya's squad:

Well, I thought it was pretty obvious that she had her own squad/team under her orders when destroying the Tekunin ship.

You are right though, that it would had been really nice to see her surrounded by Special Forces/OIA agents in the Artic (and even fight against them!), but, having her fight Taven on her own isn't something I gave that much thought to considering everyone else did it like that. Granted it would had been something cool to see, but, its not even something I thought about till you mentioned it. I guess this is who Sonya is: she realized her target was there, her best friend was missing, so she rushed to solve things herself.

The Special Forces role was pretty awesome in MKA, specially during the Tekunin attack.

Regarding the high-heels:

But when you are thinking about this kind of stuff, these kind of "disadvantages", that's when I think we are taking the thing more seriously than it should be, don't you think?

Well, I can respect you like the flat foot wear better, as it adds more credibility/realism for you, but, I honestly don't think it takes away anything positive from the characters or the credibility of a fight. That's just me though. The high heels are there to look pretty. A pretty accessory. They look good.

If we started taking away those "disadvantages", than we would had to strip a lot of MK characters from those looks and useless accessories that make them look cool despite it being unrealistic. That's my opinion, though.



The_Truth that was truly an awesome post with some brilliant ideas. I like most of your suggestions, in particular the MK4 hat/pony tail, the cool glasses, and the "tactical accessories".

I don't want her to loose the sexy midriff look, though, its not a big deal if she does, but I rather she kept that part of her body visible. Its a trademark of hers and I like it.

As for the FLC (flick) picture you posted, those accessories are pretty cool and it would be a nice addition. However (I'm not sure how "unrealistic this is), I would rather see her wear something like that in a special kind of "tactical belt", and even in "tactical straps" around one of her legs (similar to her look in MK4).

I much rather have more design and details in her upper body/chest/arms than a big FLC thing covering her. I can see how you can disagree entirely though, seeing as how you are in the military and you know so much about this kind of thing. I just don't like the idea of having half of her upper body blocked by that thing when there could be a more "futuristic" and "cooler" design instead.

I think a tactical belt with many of those accessories would work pretty well if properly designed, no?

As for the gloves, I much rather have the futuristic ones she had in MKvsDC. Those were amazing. But maybe you can have the style of gloves you posted and spice them up similar to the ones in MKvsDC?

As for the gun strapped around her leg, I'm all for it! They actually had her in some Krypt pictures looking a bit like this (even similar to Lara Croft) with straps around her legs that had a cool knife and gun. I'd like that.

I like your ideas, and I can definitely see some of them designed into her character. However, I'm still not a fan of making her look too realistic or too military-like. I rather see more sci-fi/futuristic/fake military elements in her than "realistic" additions. The OIA is fictional, after all.



Yeah, those little details add more credibility and realism for games. However, for something like this Konquest (and the one in MKD), that's too much to ask for, I guess.

I mean, look at the MKvsDC chapters that took place in the Lin Kuei and Superman's Ice level. Liu Kang was practically naked, and same can be said for Tsung who wasn't covered up, at all.

PS: I like how in MKvsDC her catch phrase seemed to be: WHO ARDE YOU!??! She demanded this out of almost all the characters she faced, even to the evil DC dude at the end of the story mode.

queve Wrote:


Totally agree. MK isn't a super serious simulation. If you start thinking about each character's costume advantages and disadvantages, you can say goodbye to all your nude abs guys- everyone should be wearing light armour. Everyone would wear football studs on grass, tennis shoes on wood etc. Raiden can lose the hat because it obscures his vision, and could be pulled down by his opponent. And then Jax wins because he has a gun.

If you apply realism then presumably whoever's running the tournament bans guns. So everyone wears armour. Maybe they set regulations about how much armour you're allowed, so it turns in to formula 1 style regulation workarounds.

Anyway i like the colourful, varied characters. Some people like hot babes. I agree there should be variety so everyone has something they like. Doesn't Ashrah wear flat shoes? So everyone's happy. :)

I do think "realism" has a place though. I like believeable animations and realistic fighting moves. People can suspend disbelief far enough to believe that, by focusing mental powers or something, people can levitate and fire glowy balls out of their legs, but not train enough to run around in shoes that look nice.

In my opinion Sonya should be sexy in a tom boy type of way. She doesn't need her tits and ass hanging out to look sexy. For her outfit I would keep it simple and have her wear

- Camo cargo pants
- Black combat boots
- Fingerless gloves
- White midriff
- Maybe dog tags or some kind of necklace
- Black bandana from MK3
- And finally I think some (not alot) of green and black army paint on her face would be a nice touch

And I think it would be cool if like the other fighters in the tournament didn't take her seriously because she was a "pretty face" that they could crush easily, but she ends up being a formidable foe and kicking vast amounts of ass. That way her kiss of death fatality could be like a "fuck you" to the fighters who doubted her abilities and got beaten.

For Sonya's image she should have:

Outfit 1:
- Tight Leather Pants (Black or Dark Green)
- Blonde Low Ponytail with Beret (Like in MKvsDC)
- Black or White Midriff Shirt
- Belly Ring
- Black Kombat Boots
- Midriff Military Jacket Over the Shirt
- Fingerless Gloves
-Dog Tag

Outfit 2:
- Camo Short Shorts
- Green Tanktop that matches the shorts.
- Black Fashion Bra
- High Ponytail with Headband (Like in MKSM and in MK3)
- Dog Tag
- Kombat Boots
- Loop Earings
- Fingerless Gloves

(For more details on how Sonya's 2nd outfit should look like, refer to the video of "Everybody" by Rudenko.)

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8wK0AoOe_E

Exactly. And don't forget the robes, the belts, the the capes, the swimsuits, the long hairs, the extremely extremely long hairs, some armors, etc etc etc.

But I think it all ends up to personal preferences. Some fans prefer a more realistic approach even in those little details, for others its not such a big deal.



Regarding your sexy Tomboy idea

That's exactly what I love about Sonya, and its something that shaped her personality and made her distinct and unique among the rest of the females, and to stand out among the general main cast.

Regarding her being underestimated by other characters and then kicking their butts

That was pretty much established during MK1-MK3. While she was never, like, "not taken seriously" by her opponents (maybe except Kano), she surely proved to be a formidable warrior.

Indeed, you can see all of that in MKvsDC, particularly when she battles the Joker (Pretty flower, for the pretty lady?.......Hey, you don't punch like a girl!!!, still, some of the best moments of the game, hehe), Catwoman, and even Green Lantern and Captain Marvel. They underestimate her and she proves to them how formidable she is.

Its pretty late now (after all those years in MK and saving the world) for older characters to "not take her seriously" considering how much she has done and accomplished. But yeah, newer warriors could do that and get their butts kicked.

This happened with Frost (but Frost pretty much thought to be better than everyone else anyways). Is this the kind of thing you are talking about?

I do love seeing underestimated characters (particularly females being underestimated by sexist "tough" men) shocking the opponent by proving to be more than a match.



I like the ideas, but, I want to see more spice/fire to those outfits (and the one suggested by IceDragon). You see, my main problem with them is that they are too simple. Incorporate a futuristic/sci-fi design, futuristic elements, and fake sci-fi accessories to make her stand out like she did in her latest appearance. Add more to them so they don't look too bland. or too simple.

The outfits in the video are a bit too sexual for Sonya, but if you cover a lot more skin and add more futuristic designs, then it can work. I like he shorts, I still think it can work for her if done properly.

The_Truth that was truly an awesome post with some brilliant ideas. I like most of your suggestions, in particular the MK4 hat/pony tail, the cool glasses, and the "tactical accessories".

I always thought that was Sonya's best face/hair/headgear look. I fucking hate the beret shit. As I said she's not even wearing it properly and berets are only meant for garrison wear - not for stuff in the field. Plus berets suck anyway...boonie hats, patrol caps, and basebal caps are much, much better headgear.

I don't want her to loose the sexy midriff look, though, its not a big deal if she does, but I rather she kept that part of her body visible. Its a trademark of hers and I like it.

I just think it's overdone especially for who she's supposed to be. Civilian clothes? That's fine but for something she'd wear into battle or something it's not practical. Like I said a UnderArmor shirt or something to that effect would work and look great. Kind of like this...



Except replace that tool with a hot blonde and you get the idea. =)

As for the FLC (flick) picture you posted, those accessories are pretty cool and it would be a nice addition. However (I'm not sure how "unrealistic this is), I would rather see her wear something like that in a special kind of "tactical belt", and even in "tactical straps" around one of her legs (similar to her look in MK4).

I much rather have more design and details in her upper body/chest/arms than a big FLC thing covering her. I can see how you can disagree entirely though, seeing as how you are in the military and you know so much about this kind of thing. I just don't like the idea of having half of her upper body blocked by that thing when there could be a more "futuristic" and "cooler" design instead.

I think a tactical belt with many of those accessories would work pretty well if properly designed, no?

The Fighting Load Carrier (FLC) is what's currently issued so it's why I posted it kind of arbitrarily. There are other load bearing gear, belts, and straps out there. Like these two.





The problem with the kind of gear she had, like in MK4, is that all the pouches and everything are just too small. You wouldn't be able to carry anything that matters so there's no point in having it at all.

As for the gloves, I much rather have the futuristic ones she had in MKvsDC. Those were amazing. But maybe you can have the style of gloves you posted and spice them up similar to the ones in MKvsDC?

The gloves she had in MKvsDC aren't really futuristic - or practical. Having gloves that run all the way up your forearms can get really hot/irritating. Having small and sleek gloves are much better especially when you have to fart around in hot weather. On top of that they're fingerless which more or less defeats the purpose of having shooting gloves.

The gloves you see soldiers and Marines wearing are made with Nomex which makes them flame resistant...so in a fire you might save your palms but your fingers are fucked. The style of glove I posted are really advanced. The hardened knuckles are actually made out of kevlar so you've got that in addition to the Nomex. The Wiley X CAG gloves are what I use but like I said there are other styles out there. These are the kind offered by Oakley for example.



As for the gun strapped around her leg, I'm all for it! They actually had her in some Krypt pictures looking a bit like this (even similar to Lara Croft) with straps around her legs that had a cool knife and gun. I'd like that.

Me too actually. A good knife (which honestly are more tools than weapons) is a great thing to have regardless of where it's put. The legdrop/pistol definitely is a great little touch especially since Sonya is an officer.

I like your ideas, and I can definitely see some of them designed into her character. However, I'm still not a fan of making her look too realistic or too military-like. I rather see more sci-fi/futuristic/fake military elements in her than "realistic" additions. The OIA is fictional, after all.

See that's the thing though...she doesn't look even fake military. There's nothing military about her or her outfits aside from the odd beret or combat boots. The OIA may be fictional but they're definitely still a military organization with military ranks, structure, and cabilities. They're definitely unorthodox though and SF units do get to choose what gear/clothes they wear and use but...skin tight leather, visible thongs/thong tan lines, huge gold medallions, or whatever else they wear is a little crazy.

Yeah, I would incorprate those futuristic features but I have no idea what to put. lol You can add more to it if you want. But definitely, we need to see Sonya in shorts this time in the game.

That would have made sense, and it would have been interesting to see that.

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I personally don't go that far. It would have been nice to see his costume resemble that of an actual soldier's, but I'm still satisfied with what they did for him.



I don't understand the first part. I would think that Sonya and her squad would be trying to take down Taven. For her to rush in to solve things herself shows that Sonya really needs to be improved. This doesn't mean that she can't or shouldn't have a sense of independence. It's just that as someone in the Army, she should be smart and have soldiers with her, especially in an area like the Arctic.



No, I don't think so. Just because Mortal Kombat is a video game series, especially one that has fantasy elements, doesn't mean that there can't or shouldn't be a sense of realism and logic. Kitana, Mileena, and Jade were highly-trained warrior assassins for thousands of years. I would think that such characters would have a good idea of what works and what doesn't work.



Yes, I'm aware that they are meant for aesthetic purposes, but I feel that not only are they illogical and unrealistic, they are just plain unnecessary.



The female ninja characters (or any female character for that matter) don't have to wear high-heeled footwear to look cool. You might like the midriff shirt for Sonya, but it's unrealistic, illogical, and unnecessary, in my opinion. Again, I know that MK is fantasy, but Sonya is supposed to be a soldier in the U.S. Army. Would it make sense for her to dress in Samurai yoroi (armor) or dress in a bathing suit? No.

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No, it doesn't mean that. Each character is different. I can see someone like Hotaru and Shao Kahn wearing armor, but I don't think that Johnny Cage and Liu Kang have to wear armor.



No. The Jingasa was worn by Samurai, and martial arts styles like Yagyu Shingan Ryu even teach Jingasajutsu (military hat art). You assume that Jax would win because he has a gun, but you ignore the fact that characters in this series have various powers such as teleportation.

Expect Jax....

I’m glad Sonya has been semi confirmed. It’s really good to see her finally being recognized by the developers for the” Star “ that she is.

Her moves are fine in fact if they give her anymore she’d probably be a little overpowered, however I thought the Leg grabs execution and response time in MK vs DC was really slow and often more of a liability in Kombat. They should speed it up a bit or maybe change the button input to how it used to be in the past. Her energy rings, bicycle kick, cartwheel and kiss are perfect. If they were going to give her any new moves then they’d better bring back her flying kick (especially since it was featured in the animated mortal kombat short.)I know people are going to complain that it’s a replica of Liu Kang, but maybe they can spice it up a bit by changing the animation or instead of hitting the enemy away on impact, it can be manipulated into a sort of flying air grab.

As far as her overall looks are concerned I appreciate the development team efforts of reinventing or freshening up her look in the series, but I think they need to move away from the butch tough chick look they introduced in MK:DA and onwards. In MK vs DC they sort of tried to steer away from her heavy look but in my opinion they got her face wrong it was very masculine especially during in game cut- scenes, they need to channel her beauty, fragility, stubbornness, strength and loyalty. Therefore softening her image would be a start, her eyes would be a palpable choice in my opinion. If they were going to keep one thing from her MK:DA look, it would be to bring back her jacket, I thought that was one of the best accessories any MK character was granted in that game.

Story wise the team is stuck in a rut and it doesn’t seem like they can salvage the games storyline let alone provide Sonya a role that is meaningful apart from her stale special forces storyline. Personally I would go back to basics, In the original game we knew why each fighter was competing and over the years that sense of purpose has disappeared, therefore coming up with a coherent objective for all the fighters would be ideal.
As far as Sonya is concerned I’ve always been fascinated with her twin brother Daniel who was supposedly killed, maybe they can delve deeper into that aspect or better yet they can probably bring Daniel back from the grave to torment her and bring out her weaknesses and vulnerability sounds really interesting. I’m never sick of Sonya and Kano therefore implicating Kano in her storyline is always a plus in my book.

Sonya is boring. I prefer other female characters like Li Mei, Nitara, Jade and Mileena.